Deemania since 56

The very reason that we are baffled by such newborn umpiring decisions. We, keen observers of the game over many years, watch and interpret all decisions yet consistency of application is never achieved by the white brethren. Where is the modern-day Nash or Beitzel? They always communicated with the public on decisions without apology or intent. We are totally baffled. The players must be freaking out over 'what to do' in 'decision-based circumstances' onfield. Baffled they are: just recall last week's game when someone '...didn't care that XXXXXX was bleeding...', '...why the free kick?'

Must be pond life, Febes. Don't worry about that one. Anonymous nuisance missing the point of a forum.

Normal people in normal enterprise have been scrutinised for less! The world is a richer place because of such practices.

I don't know so I would hope someone could find out...and reasons for or against seeking clarification. It sounds ridiculous in some areas but none of these are as ridiculous as the levels of mysterious umpiring decisions and behaviours that we have seen so far this year.

Great, the game needs this amendment. Fully support such a move.

With the current state of play, your suggestion of TMac at CHB is probably a good one, should the Weed be allocated as a 2nd ruck with main duties at FFwd. The FFwd position would be just fine for the short Gawn relaxative moments if this occurs. HOpefully, we can overcome the bombs we waste our time on so that Hogan doesn't have to watch a rocket pass over his head many metres away. Hoges needs the ball passed to him or into a position to which he might be leading. It's unfair indeed to say that he had a bad couple of games - his team let him down with rubbish kicking. Deez Nuts suggested bringing in Kent straight away and I personally like this idea to occupy a flanking role with stints goalward. Petty can be trialled off the bench at any time, possibly the sooner, the better. Trac also needs to be benched for some rapid deployments onfield rather than be a luxury cruiser on Casey's winning set-up; this would also be sufficient to let him know that we expect a form improvement and that he would have to fight for a more permanent position like everyone else. Down back, we need Frosty/Pedo/J.Smith with Tim and Baker available on the bench. The more one reflects on the teams of the past few weeks, the more it seems appropriate to sacrifice Lewis and Vince for a short while as the pressure is just slightly off and those two can recover more fully as preparation for a finals series guarantee. Jones needs a flanking role at half back. Recovery is his difficulty at present as a roving midfielder. Viney, Oliver, Bryshaw and Stretch can do much in these midfield roles with some outside work from Fritsch on offer through the wing. That way we have one aerialist/runner on one wing and a shorter, playmaker in Gus on the other. Both have unique skills to be exploited. Tyson just is not needed with his lack of proprioception (unawareness of himself and his opponents in the processing of ground space and ball delivery). Spargo and Garlett, to me, represent a double-whammy deep in the fwd line that must be trialled across the next three matches, with Hannan's presence not too far away; the latter uses the flanks well to dip quickly into the congestion or behind, and his noted reactions are worth one or two goals at least, each game if given the responsibility. HIbberd is a superb half-back flanker and must stay there, just as Jetta is the best modern-day interceptor and tagger/rebounder from back pocket that I have seen for years. He's nearly as good as Frank Davis was years ago, and Brett Bailey, too. We need sorting as you say. Let's keep the ideas, no matter how fanciful, ticking over.

Absolutely agree about Kent - got the 'nasty' written all over his game - kicks well, tough (prior to shoulder injury), far ken fast, a one-look for heads up or goal shot, team player, motivated. Needs another runner nearby, such as Stretch and Trac, to create a loop of forward thrust across shorter distances than the intent of the long bomb.

Absolutely. Now, play him in the back deep, alongside the fullback and Nev. Have a 'when possible' tall to assist OMac move in - even a resting ruck, and we are near impenetrable.

Basically, the ridiculous efforts of the umpires to be seen, 'in- charge', developing celebrity umpiring status and plain, ordinary bias that favoured Port Adelaide at the expense of dominant and skilful Demon football. Violations on the interpretation of rules ran amok as the only means of assuring a Port win, in graduated stages across a whole game. I look to the MFC to make an official complaint about this recurring tendency as a measure of the AFL corruption. End of statement.

The bombs just have to be past history - it is such a low percentage play to bomb it long. Most of our forwards can kick and score from outside the bottleneck; Hogan, perhaps, is the one who cannot kick from further out. We must look for short entries with players displaying football nouse by finding space to receive. Hogan can then play his game for a conservative return. TMac can take the screamers or the running receives. Garlett perhaps is needed - he must hit form; happy with the contributions and pace of Hannan to score or to sneak a score in space. More can be made of Spargo - he is a goer and has the required pace but he should not be seen just as a poor tackler as he is capable in the right company down forward to apply very effective forward defensive pressure. Melksham cannot be overlooked in his movements to space, his general marking and scouting for that snap. The trio of intial feeds from the in-form Stretch, to Harmes to Melksham, for example, is worthy of thought. The backline needs Frosty at CHB, as well. Even Pedo might be considered as a spoiler in pack marking duels in that position. Petty might be a solution as well. Here is my team for StKilda, pure fantasy it may be but it interests me after the two current losses: FB: Jetta OMac JSmith HB: Jones Frost Hibberd ? Fritsch Oliver Stretch HF: Melksham TMac Harmes FF: Spargo Hogan Garlett R: Gawn, Weideman, Viney Int: Pedersen, ANB, Petty, Hannan

Bluddyoath. The return of the bomb means indirect across the whole game.

Good evidence of pre-match collusion and a higher order from uptstairs...then there is competing between four umpires for status, recognition, actually seen to be making a decision oneself - albeit fanciful and wrong, and still not making up the ground to be in position to adjudicate where necessary and thoroughly - unlike the single umpires' talents of the past. Frigging amazing.

Pepper needed a dose or two of his own medicine; attempting to cause severe injury across a game particularly when a player was on the ground, immobile, unprotected and already smothered by another player. No video review? Why? Very well put description of our observations!

This is an example of my points about umpires: the game is now fully corrupted and incompetence is just fine when managed (AFL) in a non-descript manner for the unspoken net outcomes. Time we let the AFL and the umpires board feel the way we do about this creeping cancer on our game. I will partake in this season a little longer but not next year if there is the slightest hint of favoured outcomes against any team in the competition.

1. Our whole team lost the sniff when the umpires decided to interfere with the talent flow that we were exhibiting. 2. Creative yet still incorrect decisions that nobody could imagine were sustained across the game as each of the 4 umpires decided that they needed to be seen and heard by the crowd in a favourable light. 3. The crowd gave them a favourable light as a consequence and those violations of the codes of the game were sustained. 4. The FD is letting the players and supporters down with team selections, inconsistencies and 'stabs' in the dark at the expense of conditioned experience and more perfect player deployments.

Vince is not as lethal as he was and is noticeably slowing to be at the contest. Lewis is just slow but has great kicking skills and heads up to find 'local' opportunities in other players. Lewis skirts the contact or hangs outside, too. Yet his game was good against Port, not great, but good. A firmer opposition will completely negate him, now. Both need to be at Casey and one week at a time, create space for younger animals to move up to the ones. Petty, Frost, Baker and Stretch come to mind in those positions occupied by Vince and Lewis but there are others. With Lever gone, Frost might be a great support in the back pocket to assist OMac and simultaneously release Hibberd and Jetta for some downfield backline magic; Petty is possibly a good stand-in at CHB in that scenario; Baker has pace and could use it on the wing or just outside the midfield if moving into position; Stretch needs confidence and ball winning determination and he, too, could run out the ball from the HBFlank to wing - he certainly could set up some action for the talented Fritsch or even Petracca if he wanted the ball. For me, Vince and Lewis have been handy but it was always going to be a short-term arrangement.

Is he playing well with confidence, getting the ball from own efforts?

Summative accuracy with perfect emphases, Clint. The whole game was stolen by the umpires this time and our team components went missing, fearful of what the umpires might do next. The big picture does not point to continued success unless a more valid refereeing process is instigated. Yet again we train under the rules, for the rules and have the rules squash endeavour at the coal face. At the player level, we were cruelled by team selections and the manic emphases on player flexibility for our game style. For opposition sides, it is very readable after a few minutes and thus, is shut down. Absolute power in positions does exist for the MFC yet is sacrificed for welfare and arbitrary satisfaction of our player controllers in the FD.

We have all noticed this trend in the past 3 years, getting worse each game. Unaccountability and bias from the umpires struck once again and although not part of the game last night against Port, the Razor effect of celebrity umpiring just to be seen to be a key factor and centre of attention in a game of football - whatever the cost in terms of the millions of dollars so involved from clubs - is now endemic across the fraternity of white. The allegiances of umpires to clubs and selected clubs winning games by any means is not all - this trend has to be encouraged by the AFL via the umpires for its 'entertainment value' and the massing of crowds with large supporter base interests for dollars through the turnstiles. No respectable sporting umpire would participate in this fraud, otherwise. This rubbery and conditioned corruption is also prevaricated (following a set plan for the fixture itself, for the weekly and finals series attendances, and in the pursuit of AFL-led allegiances to specific clubs and the horribly incorrect interpretations undertaken with regards to rules, regulations and the miasma of vested interest). Anything is possible in football today for the incremental massing of the 4 points per game for flavour-teams-of-monetary-interest. In essence, the game has reached an irreversible level of corruption with the total consent of the AFL in partnership with influential clubs. We see wilful and incorrect decision-making at the singular club level continuously in a season - with umpires and players powerless to right the wrongs of its effects. The public are treated as fools lost in their own dignity of expectation to assume that all's fair and well with our national game. Port Adelaide has a reasonably large captive supporter base that is just manic enough to attend finals series in droves where that Club is involved. Great for the economic justification of cheating and taking advantage of such casual 'official' assistance. That club lost the game last night, despite the scoreboard. Just as the fortunes of the Crows have been so assisted in recent times for the same, core, influential, complicity. Annointed players and teams look good as if they were competitively playing well when an insurance policy payout is quietly known to be affected in their favour from '...those who absolutely control the outcomes of any specific game - the umpires...' and once again, the dirt is swept under the carpet to be hidden from the eyes of the egalitarian fans of the game. Brown paper bagging on a grander scale than one or two dubious decisions in any one game. It is increasingly difficult for one to accept such a corrupt outcome year after year, match after match, finals entitlements after finals entitlements within our game and not conclude that it is all a 'set-up' unworthy of our future involvement and support.

I would have gone Pedo, Frosty, Garlett, JSmith in, TSmith not in, Petty plus Baker, drop Vince and Lewis, keep Spago to shirtfront Westhoff. No arguments.

Gutsy, but why not?

The revenues from a GF win probably saved the Doggies...which was a good thing. For the AFL, a cheap way out of a temporary but impending footy club collapse under their watch.They were a great team then, so one never knows.....??? Have one for me ... I'm going to have a few whiskies before the game at our club where it is $2.50 a double, and my mum taught me to drink in moderation like a gentleman, so I cannot drink from two hands; at once!

Great idea, but don't expect a forthcoming response - it would remain 'eyes only in confidence'. What would the general public know about it? Don't spend dollars on it either. Not worth the inquiry. Just a bit of fun ... perhaps.

Many on this site are sending me messages of support to avoid DL vitriole and others have commented extensively on these characteristics for several years on DL.

That data set is a very important need to be fulfilled. Supporters, observers and clubs are cramming for details on this issue as it is now such a prevalent occurrence. It ruins the game. The AFL is coaching the umpires to affect certain games in certain ways and so, would do anything to deny or negate such calls for scrutiny - hence, nothing has been done. It is a kangaroo court, a middle ages witch hunt, a caesarian whim. A capitalist monopoly with all of its questionable corruption gone public.